Vespertine

by Margaret Rogerson

First, a big thank you to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books for the e-ARC!

Now, Vespertine had me hook more or less from the beginning. Sadly, life got in the way of me quickly reading this one like I very much wanted to, but finish it I have!

This book definitely sounded interesting from the beginning, but the summary didn’t read like something I’d prefer, but I really enjoyed this!

I really loved that Artemisia wasn’t your typical heroine. I can’t go too much into detail about that, as I consider that particular detail a spoiler, but between that and the relationship she builds with the revenant is just so amusing. The transition and character arc that Artemisia follows doesn’t feel forced or jarring, but rather a smooth transition from who she starts off as, her plans to become a Grey Sister, to what she has begun to become – what her world needs her to become.

The world building was so interesting, and I love how it’s essentially been built around this pivotal point in history where the “dead” and the living have to find a way to co-exist.

While I love quite a few side characters, I do wish they had been fleshed out a little more. That said, Artemisia and the revenant weren’t as lacking in fleshing out. The relationships between the characters were tentative, but they’re supposed to be, as Artemisia is written at being better with the dead than the living.

Recommendation: If you’re looking for a book with ghosts or one with paranormal aspects to it, this is a good choice! I don’t read a lot of ghost/paranormal stories, but I have read a good number, and I haven’t seen anything quite like this worldbuilding before. Also, if you love sidekicks that have a little lip on them, who do a decent job at banter, this might be for you, too!

I will say – I don’t know if it was just me and what I was going through while reading this, but some areas of the book seemed a little confusing, and how we got from the beginning to the end of those scenes was a bit unclear. However, the author has updated her review of the book on Goodreads to clarify that the e-ARC lacks a lot of editing that was done between the release of the e-ARCs and the final copy of the book, and, from the limited experience with her previous works I have, I do believe that won’t be an issue in the final copy, but it’s worth noting on the off-chance it isn’t “fixed”.

**IT’S HARD TO TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK WITHOUT SPOILERS, SO BE SURE YOU’VE READ THE BOOK OR DON’T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS BEFORE CONTINUING!**

I love how Rogerson wrote Artemisia. It related to me in a way I don’t think any other MC has, so I’m so grateful that I got to read it early and review it!

I love the slow unfolding of the revenant’s [specific] identity, alongside the slow building of the relationship between Artemisia and the revenant. I loved their banter, how they reluctantly looked after each other, and eventually protected each other.

I love the progression of Leander throughout the story. How he progressed from a stranger with the power to control Artemisia’s future to the enemy to someone Artemisia hopes to see again.

I’m intrigued to see where the sequel goes, as this book isn’t a standalone but does tie up the events in the this book satisfactorily. At this time, on Goodreads and on her website, it is unclear how many books are planned in this series as it’s confirmed as not being a standalone, but no number of books is yet established. Regardless, I’m looking forward to reading the final copy, and to read book two!